Shuttle-heater.



N. 'MORNEAU. SHUTTLE HEATER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 13, 1910.v

1,008,665. 4 Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

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SHUTTLE-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

Application filed .Tu1y 13, 1910. Serial No. 571,758.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORBERT MQRNEAU, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Shuttle-Heater, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in shuttle-heating devices applicable more particularly to lock-stitch sewing-machines for boot and shoe work, although the new heater may be used in connection with the shuttle of any sewing-machine in which a waxedthread is employed, and said invention consists of a steam chamber provided with a certain peculiar trough means to receive the Water produced by the condensation of the steam in such chamber, and further provided with certain peculiarly arranged steam and waste pipes, all ashereinafter set forth.

Much difliculty has been experienced heretofore with the waxed-thread used in sewing-machines of the above-mentioned type, due to the hardening of the wax on the thread and the consequent breaking of the latter which naturally greatly interferes with the stitching operation, and the primary object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty by heating the shuttle with steam and in this way'softening the wax on the thread carried by said shuttle and-maintaining it at the proper temperature. With this device, which is designed to be applied to the front of the shuttle, it is not necessary to heat the shuttle at the rear by means of a gas jet, as is commonly done, or by any other means. The heat produced by the gas flame is very liable to burn the wax, and in any event is a dry heat, while with the steam from my device not only is the wax kept at the right consistency, but both wax and thread are greatly benefited by the moist heat afforded by the steam. Exhaust steam is generally employed for or with my heater, so that there is practically no expense attending the use of the same, and even if a direct supply of steam or what is known as live steam be employed it is less expensive than gas.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain the objects and secure the advantages of my invention by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a practical form of my heater, looking at the back or the side that goes next to the shuttle and which is open save for a shield in this case Fig. 2, a similar elevation but without the shield; Fig. 3, a horizontal section on lines 33, looking in the direction of the arrow, in Fig. 1, and, Fig. 4, a vertical section on lines 4:4c, looking in the direction of the arrow, in Fig. 2.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The heater shown in the drawings com prises a casing or receptacle 1 provided on the interior with a trough 2, a shield 5 which may or may not be used as occasion requires, a steam-supply pipe 6, and a drip or waste pipe v7.

The receptacle 1 is of such shape and size that it will fit the machine for which it is adapted, and said receptacle and the shield 5 are cut out to whatever extent may be necessary in order to accommodate themselves to such machine and to projecting parts thereof. These particulars, however, do not concern my invention and need not be entered into more fully.

The trough 2 is arranged against the in-v ner face of the front wall 8 of the receptacle 1, and extends from end to end of such receptacle. Said trough inclines upwardly from an intermediate point, so that the ends thereof are higher than such intermediate point, and in the present instance one branch of the trough rises more abruptly than the other branch and the end of said first-mentioned branch is considerably higher than the end of said second-mentioned branch. This last is a mere matter of detail that may vary more or less. The waste pipe 7 opens through the wall 8 into the lowermost portion of the trough 2. This pipe slants downward after leaving the receptacle.

The steam-supply pipe 6 opens into the receptacle 1 through the wall 8 above the pipe 7. j

The receptacle 1 is open behind, and the shield 5 is designed to be placed in this open space and to extend from the top of the receptacle downward back of the trough 2. There is an opening 9 in the shield 5 in line with the inlet end of the steam-supply pipe 6 when said shield is in position. The shield is held in place by means of a flange 10 at one end which is received into a groove 11 in the corresponding end of the receptacle. The flange 10 frictionally engages the sides of the groove 11 and so supports the shield, but the latter can be detached by simply forcing said flange out of engagement with said groove or with the sides thereof. The purpose of the shield 5 is to serve as a screen between the steam in the receptacle 1 and the shuttle, excepting at the opening 9 which is so located as to direct the steam onto the shuttle at the most eflicient point. In many cases the shield is not needed, and then it is detached and laid one side.

In practice, assuming that the heater be placed on a sewing-machine against the front of a shuttle, steam is admitted to the receptacle 1, through the pipe 6, and heats said receptacle and the shuttle with the waxed-thread thereon to a sufficient degree to keep said waxed-thread in suitable condition for use to the best advantage in stitching and especially in stitching leather. Although some of the steam comes in direct contact with the waxed-thread, the moisture from the steam does no harm, but on the contrary has a beneficial effect. The steam is left on during the stitching operation of the sewing-machine and condenses or vaporizes, and the water thus formed or the greater part of it is caught in the trough 2 and escapes through the pipe 7. Without some provision of this kind for carrying off the water its accumulation would seriously interfere with the successof the heater, as will be readily understood. The steam heats the shield 5, when said shield is used, and heat is radiated from that in addition to what passes through the opening 9 direct.

This heater can be easily applied to a sewingmachine without necessitating any change therein beyond making the pipe con nections, which is a valuable feature of my invention.

That this device is susceptible of modification and change has already been made plain. Such modification or change may relate to details of construction as well as to shape and size, as must be obvious.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A shuttle heater consisting of a casing, a trough supported in said casing between the ends thereof and having an elbow from which opposite portions of said trough incline upwardly and toward said ends, a steam-supply pipe opening into said casing above said trough, and a waste pipe leading out of said casing from said elbow.

2. A shuttle heater consisting of a casing having a closed front and open behind, a trough supported'in said casing between the ends thereof and having an elbow from which opposite portions ofsaid trough incline upwardly and toward said ends, a steam-supply pipe opening through said front above said trough, a waste pipe opening through said front and into said elbow, and a removable shield attached to said casing in the open space at the back.

NORBERT MORNEAU.

Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, A. O. FAIRBANKS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' v Washington, D. c. 

